Just a good excuse not to have too many sprouts at Christmas :-)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-20805966

For me, it has never really been a problem. I grow lettuce, herbs, sprouts, asparagus, apples, ... in the garden which means there is a glut at certain times of the year. Just try and get a reasonably balanced diet and most people seem to be OK.

Thanks rosiethecat. I eat these things in moderation. Actually, I've been eating these things such as apples, grapes, and bananas since I've been diagnosed and on Warfarin since November and my INR has been, for the most part, stable.

Indwen

I too was confused on green veggies, fruit etc, I was almost cutting it all out of my diet and found I wasn't feeling good at all, so I spoke with my dr and said I am going back to eating like I use to and you can adjust my warfarin dose to suit, this is a site that I use and if I am really unsure I google lets say : green apples and warfarin interaction, I always get a result and make a decision then.
http://www.drgourmet.com/warfarin/index.shtml#.Us9BRklrZMt

I have printed off a set of the veggies etc that are high and low and have it on my fridge door for reference, they give an amount we should stick to per day and I try to do that and if I go over I eat less the next day, they say just keep it the same everyday or other day how ever you are use to eating greens. I have had no problems since and also feel better for eating healthy, it scared me to start with but now I know that I need it in my diet to be healthy, hope this helps :).

Green apples are high in vit k but the other apples aren't :).

I eat what I've always eaten. Many things have vitamin k in it. Just eat what you normally eat. The idea is to be somewhat consistent with your diet, ie don't binge on high vitamin k foods out of the blue.

I'll second what RMB said. I'm a lifer and I eat pretty much what I normally eat and my INR stays steady. I'm not rediculously consistent either. I might have only one big salad every couple of weeks, for example.

If you've been eating those fruits all along, then your warfarin dose is already set to accommodate any VitK they contain. If you stop eating them now, it could wind up changing things and your numbers could get wonky. And really, fruit is good for you!

I think the point is to not suddenly become a vegan or go gluten-free overnight and drastically change your diet. That'd definitely have an impact on your INR.

Unfortunately there are no studies to date which determine how much Vitamin K is too much when it comes to starting the whole clotting cascade. Because each person metabolizes vitamins differently, it probably would be a hard study to accurately pin down.

When I had first started Coumadin I was fairly religious to not eating/drinking foods with Vitamin K (because medical science at that time said to avoid such). As time went on and I learned more I found myself not watching what I ate as much (the medical communities philosphy on Vitamin K had also changed). Your blood clot researchers will tell you to keep your green leaf veggies in your daily diet (within moderation of course). I do know of vegetarians on Coumadin who have had no issues because the foods are their daily diet and their Coumadin Manager has adjusted their dosage accordingly and found that magical number to avoid the INR rollercoaster which was the initial fear associated with Vitamin K (more of an old school worry these days).

Here is a vitamin K finder that is helpful:

http://www.ptinr.com/cafe-ptinr/vitamin-k-finder

From http://www.ptinr.com/vitamin-k-keyword-search?title=lettuce

Lettuce, iceberg (includes crisphead types), raw
(measure) 1 medium
(micrograms) 1.9
(Vit K) Low

What? Huh?

Medium "what"? Leaf or head? It doesn't say.

Further down that list the site redeems itself and puts the correct measure/mcg/vit k values.
But the first thing the eye finds is the first listing, above. Not cool.

I find http://www.bitelog.com/ MUCH better than the ptinr.com site.

Really good info. Thanks.

When I was first diagnosed, the nutritionist really pounded it in that I should avoid Vitamin K and alcohol and and and. And I did. Religiously. And my INR was all over the place - too high! too low! we couldn't level it out for almost five months. I finally got tired of skipping out on foods that I love (kale and chard are like my first and second favorite foods ever) and added them back into my diet. My INR stabilized. I feel healthier. I try to keep it consistent, but it's a lot easier and a lot less stress now.

Same here! When I was first on warfarin my INR was really stubborn and I did the same thing, stopped eating foods high in vitamin k. Well that did nothing but destabilize my INR even more, plus I felt like crap because I started eating less healthy. It was very stressful. Finally, I just surrendered and went back to basics, eating what I like to eat.

So yeah, eat what you normally eat, don't vary your diet by extremes and that's that. In my opinion, and that's all it is, any doctor, nurse, or warfarin manager who tells you to avoid high vitamin k foods is a) antiquated in their warfarin management approach, b) frustrated by one's stubborn INR, c) for some reason, afraid to up your warfarin dosage. I mean, there are people all over the world who eat a plant based diet and are on warfarin and manage to have a stable INR.

This avoidance has been especially tough as I was starting a more raw lifestyle. My INR has been. Every which way. I now stick to 3 cups of leafy greens a week. Eating them, drink them, whatever. No worries on fruit or any other non leafy food. Eat them by the ton.

No need to avoid greens. Just know how much Vit K is in them (Vit K affects your INR). And nurses or anti-coag clinics that say to AVOID green leafy food and don't mention the other things that can change your INR really irritate me!

Iceberg lettuce has less than half the Vit K than Romaine lettuce. So you can eat more of it.

You may not be a cauliflower lover but a cup of raw cauliflower has about the same amount of Vit K as a cup of iceberg lettuce.

And one cup of raw blueberries has almost twice as much Vit K as a cup of shredded iceberg lettuce.

Kiwis aren't leafy but they ARE green and just one of them twice as much Vit K as one cup of iceberg lettuce. (Before my PE I could easily devour 4-5 at one sitting! Now, just a slice or two in a fruit salad!)

There are other non-green raw foods that have Vit K in them that a person who eats 'a ton of them' should be aware of. One apple without skin only has about 5 mcg Vit K in it. If more are used then ..... do the math.

Use http://www.bitelog.com/ to find out what you're eating.

Once you know what you're eating then the important thing is consistency. The doctor can adjust your warfarin to what you eat. I prefer to take less warfarin because side effects are dose related.

My dr. told me to just eat how I normally did before I started blood thinners, so I do. I do stay away from grapefruit and cranberries since the literature I received with my meds mentioned avoiding those specifically.

ament,

The same rules apply to Cranberry and Grapefruit (consume in moderation). Though I don't like posting articles from non-healthcare websites, this particular article was done in 2012 by the Anticoagulation Forum which is a healthcare organization made up of Coumadin Clinics from around the Country. The founder, Dr. Jack Ansell is a well known hemotologist who specializes in treatment of blood clots (Jack no longer run the AcForum but remains a member):

http://www.cranberryinstitute.org/HCP/Cranberry%20%20Warfarin%20OK%20Together%20-%20Formatted.pdf

i was also told to stay away from Mango and papaya. has anyone else been told that?